To make Pinterest work as an effective tool for your business, consider the fundamentals in matching visual content to business messaging.

Creating marketing campaigns around visual content is always an attractive proposition due to the human nature to like rich and engaging content. You will find that the average internet user is much more likely and receptive to spending 10 minutes watching a YouTube clip than spending the same time reading a text-heavy article.

Images can convey emotion a lot better than text. Connecting with your audiences and being able to spark an emotion influences behaviour – which is the underlying purpose of marketing itself.

There are a number of marketing goals you can pursue using Pinterest – from driving web and foot traffic, to increasing visibility with influencers and consumers.

Here are 8 tips to really make Pinterest work for your business.

1. It’s Not All About You

It’s not enough to simply pin your own images and hope others will repin them. You must actively engage with other Pinterest users too.

A proven method of gaining new followers is to tag the original pinner in the description section. Just add the “@” symbol in front of their name and they’ll be aware that you mentioned them.

It’s useful to know that your pins are being used by others. Adding the small touch of specifically referencing the pinner is a great way to strengthen connections and gain a loyal following on Pinterest.

2. Start Selling

People don’t just use Pinterest to find inspiration – they’re also there to shop. If you’re selling a product, or repinning products that are relevant to your business, be sure to include a price tag on the image. These pins get 36% more likes than those without price tags.

Even if you’re not selling your own products, think of creative ways to make Pinterest work better for you by incorporating products with keywords that relevant people search for. If you’re in the travel business, create a board of place pins; if you’re a hairdresser, pin various styles and looks from other professionals.

3. Consumer Research And Analysis

Analysing users who follow your business on Pinterest can give you a lot of valuable information about your target market and pool of potential clients. By following these pinners and evaluating what else they’re pinning, liking and commenting on, you can unearth detailed trends about your audience.

4. Optimise Pinterest For SEO

Content and SEO go hand in hand regardless of the platform and indeed, Pinterest is no exception to this rule. Here are 6 additional tips for optimising your business profile to make Pinterest work better for search engines:

Choose your username wisely

Add your website link

Write your profile description with search optimisation in mind

Write your board description with search optimisation in mind

Ensure your image file names and alt text are optimised

Use hashtags

5. Be Useful

People use the internet for two main purposes: entertainment and problem solving. Start to make Pinterest work by using it for more than just entertainment – start becoming useful.

This is especially effective for content-based businesses. Have you read something that would help your customers recently? Pin it. Did you watch a helpful YouTube video about your product, service or industry? Pin it. Become a valuable resource to your followers and you will start to increase your levels of engagement and readership.

6. Start Talking

Don’t just pin – pin and discuss. Many social networks like YouTube and Facebook are driven by the comments sections because people like to talk about the content they just consumed.

Try starting conversations in the comments section of boards and pins. By giving users a clear opportunity to talk with you, you’re far more likely to create an engaging environment and make Pinterest work for community building.

7. Use Pin It Buttons On Your Website

In order to drive referral traffic from Pinterest, your website images have to make it there in the first place. Of course, you should be adding them yourself, but when other’s share your images then that’s where the magic starts to happen.

The hover Pin It button is an effective call to action. It allows people to share your images to their account within 2 clicks, which is about as convenient as possible. The button is easy to activate and Pinterest provides detailed directions for how to do it here.

8. Create A Board of Place Pins

Place pins allow you to create location-based visual media and map out where in the world your pins are associated with. For instance, if you pin a photo of your favourite drinking spot to a board, you can now include it’s location too.

Place Pins can make Pinterest work better for your business because they also include additional details, like the address and phone number, right on the Pin. This allows people to easily locate useful information and start using Pinterest in new ways.

Creating a board of Place Pins is quick and simple. Just click the Add a map button after you create a new board or when editing an existing board.

Make Pinterest Work For Your Business

Pinterest has good versatility in marketing products or services. Simply pinning images to your boards won’t work towards fulfilling any worthwhile metrics – if it was that easy everybody would be Pinterest masters.

Think about how you can use these 8 tips to make Pinterest work for your existing, and future online marketing campaigns.

About AuthorStuartJDavidson

Stuart is a digital marketing strategist living in Kent, UK. Stuart blogs at StuartJDavidson.com where he shares his extensive freelance and corporate marketing experiences. He is also the author of "How to Win in Social Media".

Some great tips, Stuart.
Personally, I find being active and engaged the most important part of social media.
Also, people should pay attention to 80/20 rule :
80% shares of other users;
20% your own content.

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